VZCZCXRO1472
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1961/01 2011045
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201045Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4002
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0090
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0309
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0827

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001961 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/I, ISN/NESS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2029 
TAGS: TPHY SENV TRGY TSPL PARM ENRG KGIT KNNP KSCA
OSCI, IZ 
SUBJECT: IRAQ'S NEW ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION 
 
REF: A. 08 BAGHDAD 3143 
     ¶B. UNVIE VIENNA 281 
 
Classified By: DCM Robert Ford for reasons 1.4 (b, d, e, f, g, h.). 
 
¶1.  (U) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 9. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶2.  (C) The Council of Ministers (CoM) signed an order in 
April 2009 establishing the Iraqi National Atomic Energy 
Commission, an inter-ministry commission mandated to provide 
coordination and advice regarding all nuclear issues. 
Minister of Science and Technology (MoST) Ra'id Fahmi Jahid 
said the commission is considering nuclear energy from a 
long-term perspective only and has made no decisions or 
recommendations.  Noting that UNSCR 707 could possibly remain 
in effect for some time to come, fully restricting Iraq from 
working with nuclear energy technologies, Minister Fahmi 
quipped, "707 can be interpreted in many ways--there are big 
margins, and that's where we are working."  Minister Fahmi 
said that recent Iraqi press reports based on an interview in 
which he claimed Iraq had decided to build a reactor were 
inaccurate and he has requested a retraction.  Embassy 
believes it is likely Iraq will begin importing and 
developing nuclear energy technologies as soon as UNSCR 707 
restrictions are removed.  Please see paragraph 9, action 
request.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------------- 
IRAQ'S NEW ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Minister of Science and Technology (MoST) Ra'id 
Fahmi Jahid told EmbOffs on 9 July that the Council of 
Ministers (CoM) signed an order in April 2009 establishing an 
inter-ministry commission called the "Iraqi National 
Commission for Atomic Energy."  Created on the recommendation 
of Minister Fahmi, the commission has no authority to make 
decisions and no budget, simply a mandate to act as a forum 
for inter-ministry discussion and advice to the Prime 
Minister on all nuclear issues.  "When the Minister of 
Electricity told the press several months ago in France that 
Iraq wanted to pursue nuclear energy, he had no clue about 
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 707," 
Fahmi said.  "This commission will allow us to coordinate our 
policy in an informed and inclusive way."  Minister Fahmi 
claimed that perhaps the commission was poorly named given 
that its focus is on nuclear issues in general, not just 
energy.  Dr. Talib Ebrahim, MoST Director General for the 
Materials Science and a member of the commission, said that 
the commission's present objectives are to coordinate a way 
ahead on non-energy related issues, such as health, 
agricultural, and industrial applications of nuclear 
technologies.  (Note:  In September 2008, Minister Fahmi told 
the Embassy that Iraq was not/not considering developing 
nuclear power (ref A).  End note.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Stating Iraq has the right to develop nuclear 
energy "just like Jordan and the UAE," Minister Fahmi said 
that the commission is considering nuclear energy from a 
long-term perspective only and has made no decisions or 
recommendations.  UNSCR 707 prohibits Iraq from working with 
nuclear energy at this time, but it is only prudent to plan 
ahead, he said.  A reactor program would require 600-1000 
highly trained personnel, of which Iraq has very few.  A 
viable commercial reactor would take 15-20 years to implement 
and require an enormous amount of resources.  Economic 
viability, site selection, human resources, all of this takes 
Qviability, site selection, human resources, all of this takes 
an immense amount of inter-ministry coordination, he 
continued.  When asked, he said that Iraq was not reaching 
out to expatriate Iraqi nuclear scientists in particular, but 
continues to encourage Iraqi specialists from all fields to 
contribute to Iraq's reconstruction. 
 
----------------------------------- 
WORKING IN THE MARGINS OF UNSCR 707 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Noting that UNSCR 707 could possibly remain in effect 
for some time to come, fully restricting Iraq from working 
with nuclear energy technologies, Minister Fahmi quipped, 
"707 can be interpreted in many ways--there are big margins, 
and that's where we are working."  Underscoring Iraq's 
 
BAGHDAD 00001961  002 OF 003 
 
 
ambitions to have UNSCR 707 restrictions lifted as soon as 
possible, he quickly followed up, "the International Atomic 
Energy Agency (IAEA) is quite happy with our cooperation on 
all nuclear issues."  Minister Fahmi claimed that the 
Government of Iraq had signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation 
Treaty Additional Protocol (AP) and was simply waiting for 
Parliament to ratify it, a prerequisite to having 707 lifted, 
he said (ref B).  (Note. Iraq signed the AP in October 2009, 
but has not yet submitted their declaration to the IAEA 
bringing the AP into force. End note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
MINISTER CLAIMS PRESS REPORTS WERE NOT ACCURATE 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Minister Fahmi said that recent Iraqi press reports 
(Buratha News Agency, June 15 and Al Bayyna Newspaper, June 
16) based on an interview with Minister Fahmi claiming Iraq 
had decided to build a reactor were inaccurate and he has 
requested a retraction.  "The press filled in some blanks 
with things I did not say," claimed Minister Fahmi.  Claims 
of U.S. support for the commission were also published out of 
context, he said, clarifying that what he meant was that the 
United States supports several other GOI nuclear-related 
activities, such as clean-up of Tuwaitha Nuclear Complex and 
cooperation with the Iraq Scientist Engagement Program. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
TEXT OF THE GOI ORDER ESTABLISHING THE COMMISSION 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) MoST provided EmbOffs a copy of CoM Order 53 which 
established the Atomic Energy Commission.  The order assigns 
14 GOI members by name to the commission from eight 
ministries (including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the 
Prime Minister's and Deputy Prime Ministers' Offices, and the 
Iraq Radioactive Source Regulatory Authority.  The Commission 
works under the supervision of MoST and is headed by MoST 
Deputy Minister Fouad Mousawi.  The order also states the 
commission's responsibilities are: 
 
     a)  Propose Iraq's policies in the field of peaceful 
uses of atomic energy and the implementation mechanisms. 
 
     b)  Coordinate national efforts in the field of peaceful 
uses of atomic energy. 
 
     c)  Coordinate joint cooperation between Iraq and 
international, regional, and Arab organizations in the field 
of atomic energy. 
 
     d)  Propose a national comprehensive program for 
developing specialized cadre in this field. 
 
     e)  Recommend the approval of national activities and 
projects in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy. 
 
     f)  Provide scientific and technical advice and 
expertise to decision makers concerning all peaceful 
applications of atomic energy. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8.  (C) Noting Iraq's loose usage of the term "Atomic Energy" 
to include non-energy related nuclear technologies (e.g., 
cancer therapy, mine detection, industrial sterilization), 
even the commission's limited focus on nuclear energy is 
disturbing given Iraq's history with nuclear technology. 
Iraq's three previous nuclear reactors (the 40-megawatt 
Osiraq Materials Testing Reactor, the 800-kilowatt Isis 
Research Reactor, and the five-megawatt IRT-5000 Research 
Reactor) still lay in bombed heaps in Tuwaitha Nuclear 
Complex.  As the GOI has placed a hiring freeze on MoST and 
reduced its already small budget, the Minister may feel 
Qreduced its already small budget, the Minister may feel 
MoST's political future is in question and is using the 
nuclear issue to try and create a secure role for the 
ministry.  Considering together the claimed misquotes from 
the news interview, the written order's focus on nuclear 
energy, Iraq's history with nuclear technologies, and MoST's 
search for a mission, the Embassy believes it is likely Iraq 
will begin importing and developing nuclear energy 
technologies as soon as UNSCR 707 restrictions are removed. 
 
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BAGHDAD 00001961  003 OF 003 
 
 
ACTION REQUEST 
-------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Embassy requests demarche instructions to inform 
the GOI of the United States Government's policy regarding 
Iraq's development of nuclear energy. 
FORD